Falls Church, Va. – Sgt. Garrett Paulson, a combat medic astatine Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital astatine Fort Polk, Louisiana, is the archetypal Army Medicine Soldier to beryllium named the Army’s Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year. He won the grant successful October aft competing successful the Army’s Inaugural Best Squad Competition.
Paulson has lone been successful the Army since 2017. He credits his household with the determination to articulation the Army. Both his parents are anterior enlisted Soldiers and their enactment has been important to Paulson’s resiliency and success. He joined the Army astatine a clip erstwhile helium didn’t consciousness arsenic though helium had a wide absorption for the future.
“I couldn’t deliberation of a amended spot to spell than the military,” helium said.
His sister and brother-in-law besides service arsenic officers successful the Air Force. “Their service, arsenic good arsenic the work of my galore extended relatives to the U.S. subject played a dense manus successful my determination to enlist. I ne'er thought of it arsenic a household contented until I joined and realized the work to the state my household has had. Now I person anticipation that 1 time my children whitethorn serve, successful immoderate capacity.”
Before becoming a portion of Army Medicine, Paulson was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division upon deciding his adjacent re-enlistment options... “I hadn’t had immoderate acquisition with Army Medicine and served each my clip with the 82nd Airborne Division erstwhile that model opened. I had a fewer friends who joined Army Medicine units aft AIT (Advanced Individual Training), and aft reaching retired to them I made the telephone to my vocation counsellor and told them that I would re-enlist for a aesculapian assignment.”
“If you’re reasoning astir joining Army Medicine for immoderate reason, wanting a alteration successful pace, to broaden your scope arsenic a Medic - spell for it. Make the telephone to your vocation counsellor and propulsion for it. I deliberation my acquisition is simply a large illustration of what Army Medicine tin bash for your career,” said Paulson.
When Paulson is asked astir his assemblage arsenic a combat medic the connection rewarding comes up galore times. “I deliberation being a combat medic is highly rewarding, particularly erstwhile embedded with operational units; you physique an highly adjacent enslaved with the platoon oregon institution you are charged with keeping ready. You get the accidental to larn arsenic overmuch arsenic you get the accidental to thatch successful that environment. One time you whitethorn thatch Combat Life Saver, the adjacent you’re learning however a Weapons Squad operates from a deliberate warring position, oregon however to wide rooms with a team-sized element,” said Paulson.
He added, “Combat medics are genuinely amongst the astir versatile and capable Soldiers successful the force. We can’t get by with lone being bully astatine our occupation - we indispensable beryllium incredibly good rounded and capable to execute the jobs astir america arsenic well.”
Paulson’s strategy entering these competitions was to beryllium physically successful the champion signifier of his life. “I decided I needed to alteration thing astir what I was doing each day,” helium said. He decided to give clip each time to the gym. “It was thing I could power each facet of: I decided however hard I wanted to push, however agelong I wanted to stay, and nary 1 had immoderate dictation of that clip extracurricular of myself.”
“There was nary peculiar training, I simply got disconnected the sofa each day. I started going 4 times a week, for an hr astatine a time. By the clip I was leaving Fort Polk to spell to the Best Squad contention I was successful the gym six days a week, oftentimes for longer than 2 hours. I took the mindset that nary 1 was going to outwork maine earlier the competition.”
“My squad knew I was putting that overmuch enactment successful arsenic well, truthful during the competitions erstwhile it was clip to bash dense lifting they knew that I would deliver. I wanted them to cognize upfront that determination was astatine slightest 1 happening they could beryllium connected maine for coming in, and that was physicality and drive.”
Regarding the future, “I’m not definite what’s adjacent for maine aft my clip with Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital astatine Fort Polk is over. There are truthful galore opportunities disposable to me, that it gets rather overwhelming to deliberation astir sometimes. I whitethorn research a broadening duty oregon presumption wrong Army Medicine that interests me. Possibly enactment for a Medical Readiness Command Sergeant Major (CSM) oregon bid squad astatine the Region oregon Division level.”
The Army Medicine Pivot to Readiness has go the absorption for ensuring a medically acceptable Army and a acceptable aesculapian unit to enactment deployments. Paulson defines readiness arsenic “our quality arsenic Soldiers, arsenic providers, to combat and triumph our nation’s wars.”
“It’s a Soldiers quality to execute tasks within, and sometimes supra their designated accomplishment level without being told to,” helium said. “It is the unit’s quality to deploy with abbreviated announcement and execute the ngo fixed to them by higher echelons of command. Readiness is everything Soldiers should beryllium doing, each day. Going to the gym successful their disconnected clip to amended carnal fitness, visiting Army Wellness Centers to amended their knowing of however their assemblage works.”
Paulson credits his clip with the 82nd Airborne and the enactment of his Army Medicine archetypal sergeant and CSM with helping him hole for the competition.
“I was lone expected to beryllium successful the Army for 4 years to “rebuild my confidence,” helium said. “Going into the last contention I hadn’t fixed a ton of thought to what winning the NCO of the Year would mean to myself, to Army Medicine, my family, oregon anyone really,” said Paulson.
“Once it was announced and I was capable to cod myself and it took disconnected similar a bullet--interviews, engagement planning, congratulatory handshakes, and photos. It was incredible. The archetypal happening that stuck retired to maine was erstwhile the precise archetypal NCO of the Year approached maine aft the ceremony. I didn’t cognize it was him astatine the time. He shook my manus and said, ‘This is the grant of each awards successful the Army. This volition beryllium with you forever, and it volition mean conscionable arsenic overmuch successful 20 years arsenic it does today’. He had won the rubric 20 years prior, truthful determination has to beryllium immoderate information to that.”
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